


CGL's Lilanette Week 2020

by ColdGoldLazarus



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Lilanette Week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22134244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColdGoldLazarus/pseuds/ColdGoldLazarus
Summary: My fic entries for January 2020's Lilanette Week prompts! This is the first time I've done something with a hard deadline like this, so we'll see how it turns out. I won't be able to cover every prompt, for better or for worse, but I'm hoping to do most of them!
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Lila Rossi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	CGL's Lilanette Week 2020

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila met a new friend during a brief stay in Paris, and promised to find her again, to never forget her.

Lila, age seven, (and a half!) stared out the rental car’s windows eagerly, watching the buildings rush past. Her mother rolled smoothly to a stop at the next intersection, the crossing road leaving an opening in the wall of storefronts, and revealing a particular triangular tower in the distance. Lila began bouncing in her seat in excitement, pointing at the structure. “There it is! Let’s go there, let’s go!”  
  
Felicita Rossi simply gave a small grin in response, the warmth not quite reaching her tired eyes. “There it is, yes,” she murmured, diverting her gaze for only a moment before fixing back on the stoplights ahead of them. “We’ll go after lunch,” she added more loudly, her daughter cheering in response. “I have to make a long call first, then we can eat and go see it.”  
  
The light turned green, and the tower was hidden from view once more, Lila slumping back down a little bit. “Aww, it’s boring when you have to call.” She crossed her arms and pouted, wondering how long she’d be stuck in the car for, but her mother reached over to gently pat her head. “I thought we could go to the park for a little bit. That won’t be so boring, don’t you think?”  
  
Carefully pulling into an open space by the sidewalk and turning off the engine, Felicita quickly stepped out and around to open the passenger-side door; Lila hesitated for several long moments, but eventually clambered onto the sidewalk. Clinging tightly to the back of her mom’s shirt, she trailed behind nervously as they walked to the next corner, where a gate opened up into a wide fenced-in stretch of greenery and trees. There was no playground equipment, but an old carousel dominated the far end, and the park was scattered liberally with people; some older teens were tossing around a frisbee on the far end, tourists gawked like open-mouthed fish, other people just relaxed in the shade of the trees, but there was a group of children around Lila’s age playing tag while their parents observed from nearby.  
  
Felicita leaned against a thick tree trunk in a quieter corner, ruffling Lila’s hair affectionately one more time before pulling out her phone, nodding toward the gaggle of screaming kids. “Why don’t you go have some fun? Don’t worry, I’ll come get you as soon as I’m done.”  
  
Lila just hugged her mother’s leg, burying her face into the soft material of her shirt. “Dun’ wanna. I don’t even know how to talk French…”  
  
Felicita sighed, not bothering to extract herself from the vice-like grip, but bent down to kiss the top of her daughter’s head. “Remember the phrases I taught you on the plane? Besides, at your age, you don’t need to know all the same words to play together. Why don’t you give it a try?” Lila remained stubbornly in place, though, and she simply shrugged, before flipping her phone open and beginning to punch in a number.  
  
“Yes, hello? This is Rossi. I wanted to ask about the status of the move.” A short pause, then she added “Yes, going to New Zealand. Wellington. The specific address should be… yes, that one, that’s correct.” A much longer silence followed, and she bit her lip thoughtfully. “We’re in Paris, for the next few days, just a stopover while the move is completed. Yes, it’ll be two adults and a chi- no, sorry, that’s _one_ adult, one child.” Her shoulders slumped slowly but surely. “Yes, he did. I’m… Well, I’ve been expecting it for a while now, it was just a matter of when. No, I don’t think she does. Not yet. Or maybe she’s just taking it really well. Another reason for the stopover, I suppose.” She let out a short, wavering laugh, before stiffening back up. “I’m sorry, but this is getting a little too personal. Let’s get back on topic. Aside from the move, I wanted to ask for confirmation on the-”  
  
Lila decided she’d heard enough now, surreptitiously letting go of her mother and slipping away with a troubled frown, absently reaching up to wipe away tears she hadn’t realized were forming. Everything was perfectly fine, and she had no clue what her mother was talking about, she reminded herself, pushing down all the bad feelings as well as she could. Instead, she took another look around to survey the park, seeing that the other children had moved gradually closer to the carousel. Despite her misgivings, anything would be better than just sitting around here for eternity waiting on her mother, so she squared her shoulders and began marching in that direction.  
  
Unfortunately, the closer she got, the more she lost her nerve again, confidence slipping away more and more as she observed them running and shoving each other gleefully. By the time she was in calling distance, her courage had evaporated entirely, leaving Lila rooted in place, trembling and staring at her shoes. Despite looking mostly the same age as her, they were loud and energetic, intimidating. At least none of them noticed her even with how close she stood, but she still wished she could just vanish into the ground altogether. Turning back around, she searched the trees for her mother, but with all the other adults hanging around, she’d lost sight of her altogether.  
  
Lila began breathing faster and heavier, while her hands involuntarily curled up into fists. Her heart beat too fast, and the tears were coming back, no matter how much she rubbed at her eyes. She was surrounded by strangers, in an unfamiliar place, and now even mom was gone. Maybe the phone call wasn’t real, and she just wanted to leave Lila behind too. She’d go find dad again, and they’d have fun together now that they’d both lef-  
  
A hand softly gripped Lila’s shoulder, startling her. “Miss, are you crying?”  
  
Whirling around with wide eyes, Lila beheld a blurry outline; she sniffled and wiped at her eyes again, and the shape solidified into a small girl, staring at her with clear concern. Her eyes were a dark grey like a thundercloud, but there was nothing but tenderness in her gaze, in her worried frown. “Why are you crying?” She asked again, making Lila gasp at the fluent Italian words.  
  
“I was just lonely,” she responded without thinking, before squaring her shoulders defensively. “Why? And how are you talking to me?” She looked the stranger up and down, noting the simple but cute pink dress, and her short blueish-black hair pulled into a pair of adorable little pigtails. Her face looked different from any of the other kids here, reminding Lila of one of the grown-ups her mom was friends with, with light-olive skin, a tiny nose like a button, and slanty eyes… She looked really pretty, Lila decided.  
  
“My Nonna taught me! I heard you crying in _Italien_ , so I thought…” The girl fiddled with her hands for several long moments, lightly pushing on a dandelion with the toe of her shoe. “Well, you looked sad. I want to make you not be sad anymore.”  
  
Lila nodded agreement; she didn’t want to be sad either. “Uhh… thank you.” she muttered, “I don’t think I’m sad anymore now…” she added, and the girl’s face lit up in a wide beaming smile.  
  
“YAY!” she cried, jumping for joy and leaping forward to hug Lila. “Then do you wanna play with me?”  
  
Lila blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift, but then smiled softly. “If you want to play with me…” Glancing over at the other kids, she couldn’t help but wonder why this girl would want to be with a crybaby like her instead of all of them, but she wasn’t about to say no to the warmth of the arms wrapped around her. Rubbing at her eyes again to get rid of the lingering sadness, she put on a bigger grin. “My name’s Lila. Do you like to play pretend?”  
  
“Yes, I do!” the girl squealed, jumping again, which was a bit of a problem while she was still hugging her. Still, after narrowly avoiding a skull-to-jaw impact, the two separated, looking around to find a better place to begin.

* * *

Lila stood defensively over a long-abandoned lunch box, waving a long tree branch menacingly through the air. “I have the treasure now, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” She cried, grinning defiantly at the girl standing over her.  
  
She had the lunchbox, but her new friend had claimed the high ground, looking pridefully down upon her from the deck of the pirate ship Parkbench. Her own branch was resting on her shoulder, as she posed cockily with hand on hip. “You know what? It’s really not worth it, fighting over some treasure,” she negotiated, unable to hide the smugness of her advantage. “You and I can be friends, and who knows, maybe we can sail the seas together!”  
  
“Never!” Lila remained unrepentant, mischievous as she bent down to pick up the lunchbox, keeping her stick trained squarely toward the other girl’s chest. “You’re either with me or against me!!!” So saying, she quickly turned and fled with the treasure, giggling uncontrollably all the while, and the other girl was unable to resist the bait, leaping off the bench and charging headlong after her. Lila quickly ducked around a tree and ran out behind the girl to catch her by surprise, but her branch swipe was parried; her oh-so-clever ambush attempt had been expected.  
  
Now it was the other girl’s turn to grin evilly, her sharp swings pushing Lila back until her back was pressed up against a wide trash barrel. “Give up the treasure, or I’ll curse you to be stinky forever and ever!” She stepped so close that they were nose to nose, and Lila could count the freckles across her cheeks.  
  
Lila was trapped now, for sure, but with a desperate swipe, she knocked her friend’s stick away long enough to make a run for it, once again being pursued. She glanced back to see how much distance was between them, and instantly rammed headfirst into someone. By the time her mind caught up to what had happened, she was sitting on her butt in the dirt, lunchbox flying off somewhere as she beheld a plump woman with dark blue hair standing over her.  
  
Lila stared blankly for several long moments, before abruptly shrinking down. “Sorry I ran into you! Please don’t be mad!” To her surprise, the woman just smiled forgivingly, said something gibberish, and offered a hand to help pull her up, which Lila cautiously accepted. She couldn’t understand the French words at all, but the tone was kind and patient, so it seemed to be okay.  
  
The other girl caught up, stopping to catch her breath, and said something to the woman in a sheepish tone. Lila looked back and forth between them, comprehension dawning. “Is that your mom?”  
  
“Yeah…” The bluenette sighed, looking down. “Momma says I have to go home now…”  
  
Lila’s face fell, and she turned pleading eyes on the woman. “Can’t you give us a little more time?” she whined, “I don’t wanna be alone again…”  
  
The girl translated, but her momma shook her head sadly. “We can’t… We have to have lunch in time to go drop off Nonna.” She crossed her arms too, asking something else, before turning back to Lila. “Will you be here again tomorrow?”  
  
Lila looked down at her feet again. “I don’t think so. Mom and I gonna be going away soon.” Part of her wanted to ask if she could just stay with them, but she knew she’d miss her mom too much. She didn’t want her to leave Lila behind too…  
  
Before Lila realized what was happening, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her again, warm and comforting as before. Now it was the other girl beginning to cry a little, as she leaned her head on Lila’s shoulder. Lila thought for a moment, then returned the embrace. “If I ever come back,” she promised, “I’ll find you again. You’re really nice and pretty, and I want to be your friend forever.”  
  
Through hiccups, the girl gave her a squeeze, and just said “We already _are_ friends.”  
  
When they parted, Lila noticed her own mom standing there as well. Felicita had a tiny, tender smile, one that did reach her eyes this time. “Are you ready to go?”  
  
Smiling at each other even through their tears, the two girls took their mothers’ hands, following in opposite directions but looking back at each other. Lila was crying again, but this time they were happy tears, somehow feeling certain deep down, that this wouldn’t be the last time they met. “I promise!” She shouted back across the park, “I’ll never forget you!”  
  
It wasn’t until they were back in the car that she realized she’d never gotten the bluenette’s name.

* * *

**Eight Years Later  
  
**Lila Rossi, age fifteen, stared out the school’s windows blankly, looking out over the rooftoops without seeing them. A particular triangular tower stood out above them all, but she only afforded it a passing, cynical glance. It was nothing special up close, really; just like many other things in this city.  
  
Shaking her head, she rolled her shoulders and cricked her neck, putting on her most charming, syrupy smirk, and stepped into the bathroom. That one troublesome bluenette had holed up in here, and it was time to see exactly where they stood. Even as she slipped in, she heard growling, and turned the corner to see Marinette glaring into the mirror, water dripping from her bangs. Lila stepped closer, just intending to observe, but the door shutting behind her alerted the other girl.  
  
“Marinette, are you crying?” She quickly improvised, watching as the bluenette’s expressions shifted from surprise to confusion, before settling back into rising frustration.  
  
“No? I’m not!” She huffed, looking like she wanted to do anything but look at the transfer student.  
  
Lila wasn’t in the habit of being sincere, but given this girl’s extreme hostility, maybe being direct was the only way to make any progress. “I…” She struggled to drop the facade, forcing the words out even as she clutched her hands protectively in front of her chest. “I can sense that you don’t like me, but I don’t understand why…” She’d never even met her when she’d transferred in. During the past few weeks hiding in the apartment, pretending to still be somewhere overseas, Marinette had spent every video call aggressively trying to debunk her falsehoods. “We barely even _know_ each other.” Lila could appreciate the challenge, in a way, forcing her to think on her feet in a way none of her many gullible acquaintances ever had, but the level of anger Marinette seemed to have toward her was genuinely confounding.  
  
A thought occurred to her, and Lila leaned in closer. “Don’t tell me it’s just because of this new seating arrangement in class?” Marinette simply turned away, refusing to speak. “It is!” That wouldn’t explain the video calls, sure, but Marinette’s aggression had ratcheted upward dramatically now that she’d returned, rearranged everyone so she could sit beside…  
  
Oh. Oh, _now_ Lila could see what was happening here. Of course; she’d seen this kind of pettiness a dozen times over. Putting away her sincerity with relief, Lila slipped back into control of the conversation. “Of course, you must be jealous about me sitting next to Adrien, because you would’ve given _anything_ to sit there yourself.” Marinette stuck her nose in the air, and Lila knew she’d hit the nail on the head. More pieces clicked into place, remembering seeing a flash of black-blue hair in the library, on her first day. So that’s the kind of person Marinette was, hmm? A shame, really; she was so cute and adorable, but envy wasn’t a good look on her. If she wasn’t so uptight all the time, she could almost remind Lila of someone else, she seemed strangely familiar…  
  
Shaking those thoughts, Lila put on a peaceful expression. “You know what? It’s really not worth it, fighting over a boy,” she negotiated. “You and I could be friends, and who knows, I might even be able to help you with Adrien.” It wasn’t like she cared that much about him anyway, just another pretty boy to prop up her image. If giving him over would make a pretty girl like Marinette more amicable, Lila was more than willing to make that sacrifice.  
  
But contrary to expectation, Marinette just scoffed in response, turning back toward Lila with a pointed glare. “You and I will _only_ be friends the day you stop _lying_ , Lila _._ ” Lila couldn’t help but gasp, fumbling mentally, even as Marinette advanced on her, finger aimed accusingly at her chest. “I can’t prove it, but I know for a fact that you don’t have Tinnitus, that your wrist is just fine, that you don’t know Prince Ali because you’ve never even set foot in Achu, and despite what you got Alya to write on her Ladyblog, Ladybug has _never_ saved your life!” Her rant done, Marinette stood over her with trembling fists and righteous fury.  
  
But even as she made a show of cowering against the sinks, Lila felt fury of her own beginning to surface, a cold rage that smoothed her emotions out, thoughts of appeasement vanishing like footprints in a blizzard. Lifting her head high and proud, she stared Marinette down with a frigid glare and her most insincere smirk yet in a lifetime full of them. “I only tell people what they want to hear,” she simply stated. If Marinette was truly so morally dead-set against liars, then she and Lila would never see eye-to-eye; it was like she was declaring war on her entire being. There would be no understanding, no cooperation, no compromise here, because Lila refused to change who she fundamentally was for this brat’s sake.  
  
“It’s called _lying_ ,” Marinette insisted. Lila regarded her dispassionately.  
  
“There’s nothing you can do about it, anyway,” Lila shrugged, letting a feral grin split across her face. The positions were reversed now, Lila advancing on a defensive Marinette, pushing them back to their initial position and then further. “People can’t resist when they hear what they like to hear. If you don’t want to be my friend, fine! But with that attitude, soon you won’t have any friends left at all…” Marinette was backed up against the wall now, but Lila kept moving in, gloating all the while. “Oh, and trust me, I’ll make sure you never get close to Adrien, here in class, or really… anywhere.” They were nose to nose now, and Lila could count the freckles across her cheeks; she slammed her hands on either side of the bluenette to keep her in place. Even if she was still smiling and smirking outside, it was just another mask, the only binding keeping the caldera of her rage from erupting unchecked. Still, this close, she could see those stormy grey eyes that felt so infuriatingly familiar, and she could recognize how damn _gorgeous_ this girl was, and her anger simmered down just slightly. “Look. You seem a little less dumb than the others, so I’m giving you one last chance. You’re either with me, or you’re against me. You don’t have to answer right away; I’ll give you until the end of class today.”  
  
Backing away and giving her hair a pointed swish, Lila left. Her poise was cool and confident, but that was just another lie, concealing how she seethed inside. Part of her hoped Marinette would see sense, but another part of her was tempted not to accept her, no matter what. The disconcerning feeling of deja vu that had plagued her throughout the encounter had faded, at least, but still lingered on in her mind; why did Marinette seem so familiar? She was sure she’d recall meeting someone this obnoxious before.  
  
It didn’t matter either way, because Marinette would never accept her offer. Lila was a liar, just like the sky was blue, the grass was green, and that _stupid_ tower was an ugly copper color. Her lies were harmless, always. Most of the time. If Marinette was going to repudiate her based on that, there was no way she would ever accept Lila, so why had she even bothered? Why had she cared so much what the bluenette thought of her?  
  
It didn’t matter.

* * *

Marinette slammed the stall door shut. Then she pulled it open and slammed it again for good measure, before finally locking it properly and slumping down onto the toilet seat. This conversation had made everything clear to her, and it hurt.  
  
_“If I ever come back, I’ll find you again. You’re really nice and pretty, and I want to be your friend forever.”  
  
__“We already are friends.”  
  
__Smiling at each other even through their tears, the two girls took their mothers’ hands, following in opposite directions but looking back at each other. Marinette was crying a little, but they were happy tears, somehow feeling certain deep down, that this wouldn’t be the last time they met. “I promise!” Lila shouted back to her from across the park, “I’ll never forget you!”  
  
_“You promised,” Marinette muttered, hugging herself tight, feeling hot trails roll down her cheeks. Tikki laid a comforting paw on her shoulder, but this was something even she didn’t know, only Marinette. “You promised you’d find me, you promised you’d never forget.”  
  
She had been fearful, when she’d recognized the girl, spying on her in the library so many months ago; she’d been afraid that promise had been broken. But now… with how many pieces of their original meeting had been dropped into Lila’s speech, with her cruel behavior here, there was only one conclusion she could draw. “You didn’t forget me,” Marinette sobbed, “but you forgot yourself.”

* * *

**Six Years Later  
  
**Lila Rossi, age twenty-one, opened her eyes to see Marinette’s beautiful sleeping face. Over her shoulder, the sun was rising behind a particular triangular tower, but she regarded it with neither excitement nor cynicism, simply the comfortable contentedness of familiarity.  
  
Sometimes it didn’t feel real. She was afraid that if she moved wrong, didn’t pay enough attention, this wonderful dream would vanish in a cloud of orange smoke, and she’d once more have Hawkmoth in her head, whispering temptations that reflected the darkest things she’d already been dreaming. The lies she’d told others, the lies she’d told herself, the lies she’d made real; the untruths had become fractal, and it was all too easy to realize this too could just be another illusion.  
  
But somehow, day after day, it wasn’t. Hawkmoth had been defeated years ago. Lila had fallen headlong into the dark, yet still somehow crawled and clambered and stubbornly dragged herself back out into the light. She still lied, but it was small things, normal things, and she didn’t let them define her anymore. She and her mother were talking again, not restricted to brief conversations few and far between.  
  
And most importantly of all, she remembered. The girl she’d befriended, the hero she’d hated, the rival she loathed yet had come to love, were all the same person. Marinette, who even now was beginning to stir, eyes fluttering open. She stared through Lila for a moment, mind still in her dream, but then her expression softened, joy and adoration shining through, that Lila knew was reflected in her own gaze. Marinette wiggled closer, until they were nose to nose.  
  
“To think, all of this…” Lila mumbled, feeling her heart overflow, “was because I was being a crybaby in a park.”  
  
“Hmm?” Marinette hmmed questioningly, eyes already fluttering shut again; her arms were warm and tight and comfortable around Lila; it felt like home.  
  
“Nothing, I was just feeling nostalgic…” Lila murmured, beginning to fall back asleep herself. “I love you.” They were nose to nose, and Lila could count the freckles across her cheeks. And this time, she leaned in just a little bit closer to kiss her.  
  
She’d finally kept her promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like what Season 3 did with Lila's character, yet I use Season 3 Lila content for my first oneshot... -_-;
> 
> I'm... honestly not all that satisfied with this one. Feels too angsty, and the ending I added to alleviate that feels tacked-on and forced, but oh well. Hopefully you like it anyway? I plan to make the rest extra-fluffy to compensate for this, anyway.


End file.
